Have you ever thought about what you would do if you were faced with a perilous situation?
I have.
I'm a planner.
I've got a plan for every scenario you can think of. Worried you'll fall off a cliff, I've got you covered. Worried about swine flu, come and see me. Worried about a drunk driver, um...I'm not so sure about this one...wait...
It's dark and I'm on the phone with Mason's mom as I drive to pick up Clare after I've been at an evening baseball game (with only a yummy diet coke as my refreshment). I've just turned into their neighborhood, down their road, and I am literally a couple of hundred yards away from their house. As I crest a small hill, I notice an SUV driving in my direction at an extremely fast pace considering they're about to come to a stop sign. I also happen to notice that something is very wrong. Without much more thinking, I realize they're in my lane and not just a little bit. This SUV was barreling bright lights and all toward me in my lane with no sign of adjusting course. Frankly, I couldn't really process what was happening. I lay on the horn and scream, but they don't move at all. Of course all of this is happening very quickly, but my mind was in slow motion. I instinctively try to get as far to the right as I can to avoid the direct impact, but I happen to be in a spot where there is nowhere to go so I just try to stop and continue to blow the horn and scream as this car drives straight toward me. As their headlights get closer, I brace my arm against the steering wheel and head against the headrest and think to myself, "well, this car better be as good as they say it is." In what seems like the last possible instant, they swerve and continuing racing toward the end of the road. Not a brake light. Nothing. I realize I'm still on the phone and I've scared Mason's mom because I'm laying on the horn and screaming. I hang up, come to a complete stop, and pull myself together because I'm stunned and shaking violently. You know what sucks? I had to put my baby into that car a moment later and take her back down that road knowing that the car and it's driver were still out there.
I write all of this as a reminder because I didn't say good-bye to one person before I left to go pick up Clare. I didn't kiss Mason on the cheek or anything. I thought I was coming right back. Kiss your babies, hug your husband and your friends, and make sure everyone you know is aware of how much you love them. Maybe I'm being overly dramatic, but I feel like I've been given a real second chance...an event that should have gone poorly for me that didn't and I know what a gift I received in that moment.
Happy (Early) Birthday To Me!